From the November issue of The Blue and White, we bring you a piece about the growth of chain stores in Morningside Heights written by Lydia DePillis, James Downie, and Eliza Shapiro. Hard copies will be on the (nonexistent) racks on Monday!

"How many banks do you need on one block?" asked Morningside Heights Assemblyman Danny O'Donnell. The answer—judging by the Washington Mutual, Citibank, Chase, and Banco Popular, all of which are stationed on Broadway from 116th St. to 110th St.—is about one per block.

O'Donnell has lived in Morningside Heights for more than a decade, and has become increasingly concerned about what he calls the "drugstorization" and "bankization" of the neighborhood.

Lately, an increasing number of Morningside's independent businesses have closed or relocated and been replaced by chain outlets that you might find in Nolita or New Jersey, Staten Island or San Francisco. The Wrapp Factory is now Empanada Joe's. Casbah Rouge is now Chipotle. Kim's Video is now Ricky's. The bars Mona and Roadhouse are now Pourhouse, an offshoot of the original Village Pourhouse, located near NYU. Two years ago, the West End became Havana Central, which has branches in Times Square and Union Square.

The prevalence of chains cuts both ways: It can be a natural consequence of neighborhood development, as businesses and new franchise owners decide that the consumer base can support the outlet. Harlem crossed a threshold in 1999 when Starbucks opened a store on 125th St., and the growth of chains has spread to West Harlem and up to Hamilton Heights.

Rumors saying as much have been swirling around this very blog (as well as Spec) for a month or so, but Bwog just spoke with a clerk at Kim's who confirmed the terrible news: When Kim's closes, a Ricky's Cosmetics will open in its place.

You might be familiar with the products of Ricky's if you recall the trashiest Halloween party you've ever been to. For come October, Ricky's boasts an impressive collection of costumes you will later regret having worn.

In a bold real estate move, the likes of which fair Morningside hasn't seen since Pinkberry's merciless eclipse of Tasti D-Lite, a restaurant called Empanadas Joe's has opened a few blocks down from Havana Central and just mere stores away from Chipotle, igniting a battle of Latin-influenced Broadway establishments. The empanada retailer will be taking the place of the darkly mysterious Wrapp Factory.

Little is known about Empanada Joe's: There's a restaurant called Empanada Joe's in Tulum, Mexico. And the company is apparently a registered business. Also, when Bwog was outside, a man approached us as we were taking a picture of the storefront. He suggested that we email the photo to the company, and that they would pay us for it. "If it's good," he added. As you can see, it is not.

A sign hanging outside announced that they were hiring (which means there are summer jobs still available!) and that today the store held a "meet and greet" for prospective employees. We assume EmJo will be open for business quite soon, at which point Chipotle and Havana Central will maybe be in for the fight of their lives, but probably not.

Gothamist and Daily Intelligencer are reporting that Dean Kathryn Yatrakis' daughter Catherine, and her lovely Greek shipping magnate husband Alastair Economakis, have decided to convert a rent-controlled building on 47 E. 3rd (a building they already own, pictured at right) from $625/month apartments to their personal private 6 bedroom/5 bathroom residence.

While the conversion is perfectly legal, and the Economakis had informed their tenants of the proposed transformation years ago, it's doesn't exactly bode well for the couple's public image. (Or give the impression that council with Associate Urban Studies Professor Yatrakis was sought.) Which is precisely why they've launched a website: to share "the other side" of the story, or so says Alastair in the site's epigraph (in which he quotes himself.) Anyway, the whole sorry, sordid tale is available for parsing on Economakis.com.